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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30124473">A Rip On Your Sleeve</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enjolchilles/pseuds/Enjolchilles'>Enjolchilles</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Universe, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sewing, Sharing a Bed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:15:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,134</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30124473</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enjolchilles/pseuds/Enjolchilles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Armin ran his finger down the split on his sleeve, “I’ll have to ask Mikasa to patch it up for me.”</p><p>“I can do it,” Jean offered. </p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Armin Arlert/Jean Kirstein</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>74</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Rip On Your Sleeve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is set after the sunset train ride in episode 69 or chapter 108 of the manga. </p><p>They share a room in this.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I don't think I'm suited for all this heavy labour,” huffed Armin after finally being able to down some of the water Sasha had previously deprived him of.</p><p> </p><p>Jean threw himself down on his bed exhausted, his long legs still planted on the floor, “Reminds me of all those chores we had to do for Historia’s orphanage.”</p><p> </p><p>Armin laughed, “You’re right.”</p><p> </p><p>“Often am,” Jean smirked, but his expression slowly faded, “Hard to believe all that's happened since then.” </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Armin sighed as he went to place his now empty cup on his desk. The clink of the glass on the wood rang out loudly in their silence. </p><p> </p><p>Jean sat up and his head lolled to the side, “You’ve got a rip on your shirt,” he pointed out. </p><p> </p><p>Armin looked down at his chest, searching.</p><p> </p><p>“On the sleeve,” Jean assisted.</p><p> </p><p>Armin turned his head to the left then right before catching the fraying fibers, “Oh no, it was probably from all that lifting. Or maybe it got caught in something and I didn’t even notice,” he ran his finger down the split, “I’ll have to ask Mikasa to patch it up for me.”</p><p> </p><p>“I can do it,” Jean offered. </p><p> </p><p>“What?” Armin asked.</p><p> </p><p>Jean groaned like an old man as he stood up and crouched down at his own desk to open the bottom shelf. He pulled out a fabric pouch and sat back on the edge of his bed. He tapped the space next to him, “Sit.”</p><p> </p><p>Armin sat down and peeked over into the contents of the sack, it was filled with different coloured spools of thread.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ll have to take your shirt off,” Jean ordered, as he pulled out some light blue thread which matched Armin’s shirt perfectly. </p><p> </p><p>“O-Okay,” Armin did as he was told, undoing the buttons and shuffling the shirt off his shoulder, careful to not accidentally rip it any further. He handed it to Jean, who placed it on his lap as he grabbed the thread and wet its end with his tongue to facilitate threading it through the eye of the needle. Armin watched in admiration as Jean soon set off to work, fixing his clothing.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t know you could sew…” He whispered, though he wasn’t sure why his voice had gotten so quiet. </p><p> </p><p>“Shut up, my mother taught me how,” Jean mumbled.</p><p> </p><p>“I wasn’t teasing you, I'm impressed. I’m not sure why I've never learnt how to.”</p><p> </p><p>They were silent again as Jean focused on his handiwork and Armin sat mesmerised by the repeating motions before him.</p><p> </p><p>His eyes followed from Jean’s hands up to his bare forearms and the rolled up sleeves of his white shirt. He reached up to Jean’s neck and twirled one of the long strands in the back with his finger, Jean froze up underneath his touch, “Have I told you I like your new hair yet?”</p><p> </p><p>Jean cleared his throat, “No, I don’t think you have.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well I do.”</p><p> </p><p>Jean returned to his task, “Have I told you how much I like your new hair yet?”</p><p> </p><p>“No.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well I do.”</p><p> </p><p>Armin looked at the blush currently invading Jean’s face, “You’re all red,” He looked out the window at the stars, “And the sunset is gone, so we can’t blame it anymore.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah well… I’m focusing a lot, that's why.”</p><p> </p><p>Armin nodded and hummed in understanding, his own face becoming a bit pink as well.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to learn?” Jean asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Learn what?”</p><p> </p><p>“To sew, obviously.”</p><p> </p><p>Armin looked down at the half completed work, “Sure, if you're willing to teach me.”</p><p> </p><p>Jean gave clear instructions, and despite his first few attempts looking a bit wonky, Armin quickly caught on and completed the task himself. </p><p> </p><p>“Good job,” Jean praised. </p><p> </p><p>Their hands grazed against each other as Armin cautiously passed back the needle and thread. </p><p> </p><p>He put his shirt back on leaving it unbuttoned, “How does it look?”</p><p> </p><p>“Good as new,” Jean returned the sewing supplies back to their drawer, “And next time you’ll be able to fix it on your own.”</p><p> </p><p>“Mhm,” Armin responded, though he didn't look too pleased, “It was nice though, watching you do it,” he admitted.</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not sure… it was comforting, I guess,” When he looked Jean in the eyes he suddenly felt flustered, “Plus you’re much better at it than I am!”</p><p> </p><p>Jean sat down on his bed, moving to lean his back against the wall and sitting with his leg against his chest, “Is everything alright?” He asked, “Well, as alright as they can be,” He corrected. </p><p> </p><p>From this position he couldn't see Armin’s face, only the movement of his head as he nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure?” </p><p> </p><p>No response. </p><p> </p><p>He noticed that Armin started to shake a little, “Woah, hey,” He moved to place a hand on Armin’s back, he caught sight of a tear forming in the corner of his eye.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry, I’m just a little nervous-” Armin turned his head away, he brought his palm up to wipe at his eyes, “Right now, everything seems so blurry, it’s like I can’t even see where we are, let alone where we’re going.”</p><p> </p><p>Jean wrapped his arm around Armin’s shoulder and pulled the two of them backward, down until both of their heads hit the soft pillow beneath them.</p><p> </p><p>“Wha-” Armin questioned as they both sunk down into the creaky mattress, but Jean shushed him.</p><p> </p><p>They lay there for a moment, backs flat against the cushion with Jean's arm stilled curled around him.</p><p> </p><p>“We need rest, tomorrow we can talk all you want,” Jean promised and brought Armin’s body closer to his. </p><p> </p><p>Armin looked up to see that Jean had closed his eyes, Armin had never noticed how long his eyelashes were. He let out a long shaky breath and huddled into the other man's chest, “Thank you, Jean.” </p><p> </p><p>Jean pulled up the sheets to cover them; they were warm, clean, and smelt of fresh pine. But Armin thought the warmth and scent from Jean was far more comforting. </p><p> </p><p>He didn’t question it when he felt Jean’s hand softly caressing the blonde strands of his hair or when both of their heart beats increased. </p><p> </p><p>“Goodnight,” Jean said, “Here's to hoping it all gets easier.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Armin agreed, “Goodnight.”</p><p> </p><p>“God, you know I can’t help but think you’re the reason why I’ve turned into some ‘good guy’ optimist,” Jean joked.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re a great guy, Jean. Always have been.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, yeah,” Jean ignored. He moved his head to rest his cheek against the top of Armin’s head. “The same goes for you. No matter what happens, I’m sure you’ll figure things out.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah…” Armin murmured one last time before closing his eyes to sleep.</p><p> </p><p>He wished he could believe Jean’s words, but instead the only thought that came to mind was how useless he felt<em>. </em> </p><p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>please let me know if any grammar or spelling need to be corrected, it helps me improve my writing! Or just let me know your thoughts, I love to read comments :)</p><p>and if you have any ideas for AOT fics please don't hesitate to comment them! I can't promise anything, but I love AOT so much and really want to write more for it.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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